Fantasy football 2024: Puka Nacua, Josh Allen among riskiest picks in drafts

One of the keys to building a winning fantasy football roster is managing risk. Too little and you end up with a boring team that finishes in the middle of the pack. Too much and you'll likely find your key players underperforming or getting injured.

TOP 200: Overall player rankings for 2024 fantasy drafts

CHEAT SHEET: The best fantasy players at each position for 2024

Here are some of this season's riskiest players at each position. Be very careful if you're considering drafting them. They could help you win a championship, but they could also ruin your title dreams. ( ADPs from all August drafts, courtesy of NFFC )

QUARTERBACK

QB Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (ADP: 28, QB 1): The Bills had a major exodus of talent at wide receiver and on the offensive line. Allen will still be a top quarterback, but is he really the top quarterback?

RUNNING BACK

Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers (ADP: 1, RB 1): He's averaged a hearty 336 touches per year the last two seasons. At age 28, and already nursing a calf injury that will keep him from playing in any preseason games, that’s a recipe for trouble if you take him first overall.

WIDE RECEIVER

Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams (ADP: 13, WR 8): A legit talent, but wasn’t nearly as prolific once Cooper Kupp returned to the lineup. He also got his knee "banged up" making a touchdown catch in practice, so his reps figure to be limited the rest of camp.

TIGHT END

Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders (ADP: 104, TE 11): Recency bias is real (see Sam LaPorta's success as a rookie tight end a year ago). There are just too many mouths to feed, no matter who's under center, to justify this rookie being an every-week fantasy starter.

KICKER

Harrison Butker, Kansas City Chiefs (K 3): Since finishing as fantasy's No. 1 kicker in 2019, he's had only two seasons inside the top-12. High ceiling, troubling floor.

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS

Buffalo Bills (D/ST 7): Considerable personnel changes in the offseason; the division got tougher, too. Don’t get overzealous based on their past success.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy football 2024: Puka Nacua, Josh Allen among riskiest picks in drafts